Perenco began operations in Gabon in 1992 with the acquisition of four offshore fields south of Port-Gentil.
An ambitious strategy of development and acquisition has resulted in current production of 65,000 bopd.
In 2013, Perenco's gross investment in the country amounted to USD 500 million. Five rigs will be in operation in 2014 and 30 new wells will be drilled. To sustain the long term development of the subsidiary, major infrastructure projects will also be delivered including 200 km of additional pipelines network, the replacement of a FSO unit, new producing off-shore platforms, treatment and compression gas station and a water treatment station.
Since 2007, Perenco has been supplying gas to the power plants of Libreville and Port-Gentil. To supply the gas handling and treatment plant, the company operates a 450-km-long pipeline.
Together with the extension of its main Convention contract, granted until 31 December 2031, a strategic partnership was agreed with the State in 2011 and two additional gas sale and purchase contracts were signed for a total additional 100 MMscfd to be delivered in Port-Gentil and Libreville (ramp-up until 2015) to feed additional power generation plants and a petrochemical project.
The Project is progressing well and as of 1st January 2014, Perenco had developed and commissioned its production capacity to meet its gas to power commitments to the State in Libreville and Port-Gentil.
Our robust exploration portfolio has been matured and five wells will be drilled within the next two years. The Portfolio was enlarged recently with the signing on 21 December 2012 of two new offshore blocks, Mono and Nkouene. A drillship will join the operation in Q2 2014 to drill a deep-off shore well on the Arouwe exploration licence.
The significant level of activity underlines the company's commitment to the country. To celebrate 20 years of Perenco's presence in Gabon, the new headquarters building in Port-Gentil, currently under construction, will be delivered in 2014.
With the ownership of several exploration licences, the company has an accelerating exploration drilling programme. Recent discoveries include:
Ompoyi Field offshore (2002)
Orindi Field offshore (2003)
Oba Field onshore (2005)
Loche East Field offshore (2007)
Exploration has delivered a number of successful developments in Gabon such as the Ompoyi and Orindi (offshore) and Oba (onshore) fields, the latter being the largest discovery to be made in the country in the last five years.
Perenco has recently completed a detailed description of the hydrocarbon systems in the Gabonese basins to understand their development and sediment fill, to determine the play elements and define play fairways that have material potential. This will allow Perenco to focus on plays that have the potential for material prospects, and we are in the process of updating the Exploration portfolio
Perenco Oil and Gas and the ANPN (National Parks Agency of Gabon) signed a Memorandum of Agreement between the two entities on 30th January, 2014, for a period of three years.
This agreement is based on studies conducted by the ANPN, the National Geographic Society, the Waitt Institute and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which revealed the richness of the marine life surrounding oil rigs. It was shown that oil rigs provide a favourable environment for the development of artificial reef biodiversity, unspoiled by fishing due to the presence of a safety zone around offshore platforms.
As a result of these findings, the agreement partners will conduct studies on the protection of these ecosystems in the context of oil production and at the moment of the decommissioning of the platforms. This practice is known as “Rig to Reef”.
The MOA provides ANPN with the financial means necessary to carry out its mission of research and protection. Mayumba National Park in southern Gabon, near which Perenco operates, notably includes populations of cetaceans and sea turtles that will be the focus of specific studies.